PROMINENT West Australian owner and breeder Bob Peters has entered his talented galloper Ranger for Saturday's Orr Stakes at Caulfield, but the man who has bred some of the great mares in this country over the past two decades is not being ambitious in thinking he can be the first to topple Black Caviar.

''He's really only there if something happened to her [Black Caviar] this week and she wasn't able to run,'' he said yesterday. ''In fact, there's not just Black Caviar. Even if she wasn't there, we'd still have to run into [Caulfield Cup winner] Southern Speed, so it's a back-up plan only.''

Ranger is not the only horse to be frightened off by Black Caviar's tilt at her 18th consecutive win as it is expected only a handful of horses will contest the group 1, which will be Black Caviar's first attempt at 1400 metres.

Peters said Ranger, which will trial at Ascot in Perth this morning before boarding a plane for Melbourne tomorrow, was more than likely to run in the Carlyon Cup at Caulfield on Saturday on his way to a possible Australian Cup start. ''But second prize in the Orr is worth more than first prize in the Carlyon, and he's there just in case either mare doesn't make it to the race,'' he said.

Peters, who won an Australian Cup 10 years ago when Old Comrade upset fellow WA champion Northerly, has never seen Black Caviar in the flesh but has watched most of her performances on TV. ''When she first started racing I sat and watched her, I was there with my granddaughters and I said, 'Now that's a horse I'd like to race,' and nothing's changed. She's a great horse.''

Peters has had his share of success with mares also over the years with group 1 winners such as Centisle, Spectrum and Miss Margaret.

He hopes he has another group 1 mare in the making in Western Jewel, which will accompany Ranger, as well as Playing God and WA Guineas winner King Saul, on the plane to Melbourne. Western Jewel, which won the group 2 Perth Cup, ran second first-up from a short break in Perth on Saturday, and is bound for the Mornington Cup on February 15.

The presence of Black Caviar in the Orr Stakes has not frightened off Bart Cummings, who will run his two best stayers - Precedence and the former German horse Illo - in the race.